BWL launches program to head off problems from future storm-related power outages

Lansing residents will get some additional help next time a massive ice storm knocks out their electricity.

Last December, about 40,000 Lansing Board of Water and Light customers lost their power during a pre-Christmas ice storm. Thousands spent the holiday in the dark as utility crews tried to restore power.

The heavy ice yanked the wiring out of about 1,000 homes and businesses. Homeowners had to track down electricians during the holidays to reconnect homes to electric meters before power could be restored. Many had to wait 11 to 12 days.

It's a homeowner's responsibility to repair the mast, seen here connecting to the electricity meter, if it is damaged during a weather event.

Credit Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio

BWL General Manager J. Peter Lark says to help avoid this problem in the future, the utility is partnering with some Lansing electricians to speed up the process during future outages.

“We certainly learned in a large storm like this, when you have hundreds of people with problems with their masts (the piece of equipment that connects homes to power), this makes it a lot easier to get attention from an electrician,” says Lark.

It typically costs homeowners up to $1,000 to repair this type of storm damage. The BWL program will allow customers time to pay that off as part of their regular electricity bill.

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State utility regulators are the latest to give Lansing’s city electric utility poor marks for how it handled a massive ice storm in December.

The Michigan Public Service Commission says the Lansing Board of Water & Light was not prepared for the Dec. 21 ice storm that knocked out power to about 40,000 BWL customers. Many customers had to wait 10 days or more to get their electricity restored.

The MPSC report echoes the findings of BWL’s own internal review and a panel appointed by Lansing’s mayor. Among other things, the MPSC says BWL needs to improve its tree trimming and communications programs. The public service commission does not regulate BWL, so its findings are little more than recommendations for change.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero asked for the state review. He says the three reports will provide a “road map” for BWL to be a more reliable energy provider.

BWL’s general manager issued a statement saying the utility has “already begun implementing many of the improvements recommended by the MPSC.”

The length of last December's power outage in Lansing was made worse by problems within the city's utility, according to a new report.

For four months, a special panel has been reviewing what went wrong during a Dec. 21 ice storm that left thousands of BWL customers in the dark for 10 days or more. In all, the storm knocked out power to about 40,000 BWL customers just before Christmas.